Remember When People Said That Republicans Were Doomed?

Republicans have significantly narrowed the gap with Democrats on who is trusted to deal with the country’s problems and have sharply reduced several of President Obama’s main political advantages, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey paints a portrait of a restless and dissatisfied electorate at the beginning of a critical election year. More than seven in 10 Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing, and as many say they’re inclined to look for new congressional representation as said so in 1994 and 2006, the last times that control of Congress shifted.

Asked how they would vote in the November House elections, Americans split evenly — 46 percent siding with the Democrats, 46 percent with the Republicans. As recently as four months ago, Democrats held a 51 to 39 percent advantage on this question.

Obama’s overall approval rating is holding steady, with 51 percent of respondents giving him positive marks and 46 percent rating him negatively. On the big domestic issues — the economy, health care, jobs and the federal budget deficit — bare majorities of Americans disapprove of the job he is doing.

There is, of course, plenty of time for the President to turn this around. But he will only be able to do so by instituting policies that acknowledge that America is a center-right nation. The days when Obamaphiles proclaimed the advent of “a liberal moment” are over.